Apparatus for coating fragile foods



June 14, 1960 G. :HR|s"r|ANsoN ETAL Re 24,835

APPARATUS Fon coATING FRAGILE Foonsl ZZ ic/2025 h NWN o c A .www H n Vwww o Y n .QW

m. hv .n QN @NI o June 14, 1960 G. cl-lRlsTlMxsoNy ETAI. f Re. 24,835

APPARATUS FOR COATING FRAGILE FOODS Original Filed March 28, 1955 5Sheets-Sheet 2 wir@ 95 96 a if Z 9537 I i I George G/zz'z'sz'azzsozzJune 14, 1960 G. cHmsrlANsdN ETAI- Re- 24,835

APPRATUS FOR COATING FRAGILE FOODS Original Filed March 28, 1955 3Sheets-Sheet 3 APPARATUS FOR COATING FRAGILE FOODS Original No.2,865,766, dated Dec. 23, 1958, S er..No. 497,110, Mar. 28, 1955.Application for reissue Julie 11, 1959, Ser. No. 819,796

s Claims. `(ci. sis- 169) Matter enclosed in heavy brackets appears in tlie `original patent but fonns no part of this reissue specilication;matter printed in italics indicates the additions :made by reissue.

This invention relates to coating articles and more particularly to amethod and'apparatus Ifor continuously applying a liquid adhesive togenerally tlat fragile articles and for subsequently applying drycomminuted material as an external coating over the liquid adhesive. Theinvention is particularly useful in breading comminuted meat products inwhich the meat is coated with liquid batter, and subsequently with drycrumbs of crackers, bread or the like, although it will ybecome apparentthat `the invention is useful for other similar coating .applications.Heretofore, shaped comminuated meat products, such as chop-shaped porkpatties, veal patties, or similar fragile comminuted meat articles, werebreaded by manual operation, that is, the patties were immersed in thebatter, drained, `and then dipped into or sprinkled with the dry crumbs.This method involves a considerable amount 'of labor and resultsfrequently in the distortion of the frigile shaped meat because ofmishandling.

One of the primary objects of this invention is to provide a continuousmethod and apparatus for breading meat products of this kind without anymanual assistance.

Another object is to provide a continuous process and `apparatus `forsuccessively applying separate liquid and dry coatings ,to -fragilearticles, such as Illat shaped comrninuted meat products, withouttearing or distorting the mea-t and without turning the meat over duringthe coating operation.

Another object is to provide a method in which the articles to be coatedare advanced from one station to United States Patent O M' anotherthrough the apparatus by depositing the article on an inclined surfacecarrying a moving layer of the coating material.

Another object is to provide .an apparatus for applying an excessivequantity of separate liquid and dry solid coatings to fragile articlesin which the excess liquid coating is drained off prior to applicationof the dry coating, and the excess dry coating is removed by vibration.

A further object is to provide a novel transfer conv'eyor Ifor handlingtender liquid coated articles and on which excess liquid is permittedrtodrain off as the articles are advanced and deposited gently on asupporting surface.

A funther object is to provide a novel transfer conveyor of this typeconsisting of cooperating rows of thin laterally-spaced rotatable discs,for intermittently supporting the articles, land adjoining a bead chainconveyor trained over a small diameter roller at the discharge end fordepositing the fragile article onto a supporting surface with a minimumdrop.

'These .and other objects will become apparent from following detaileddescription when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Figure l is a senii-diagramrnatic side view of the apparams 4ot theinvention;

Re. 24,835 Reissued June 14, 1960 ICC Figure 2 is a side view, partly insection, of 4the head end of the apparatus shown in Figure 1,illustrating means for applying the liquid and dry coatings;

Figur-e 3 is a sectional view taken along theline 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line y4--4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a plan view of a transfer conveyor provided for advancing`fragile liquid-coated articles from one supporting surface to anotherwhile permitting ex cess liquid -to drain from the articles;

Figure 7 is a sectional View taken along the line 7-7 of Figure 1showing the means for suspension of the troughs;

'Figure 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 8-8 of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a .sectional view taken along the line 9-9 of Figure l; and

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken along the line VV10-10 of Figure 9.

The invention lies in vthe utilization of y'the liquid and solid coatingmaterials as veh-icles for advancing the articles to be coated throughthe apparatus. In accordance with Ithe invention comrninuted meatpatties, for "example, are oated down an inclined chute by depositingthem in a stream of .batter flowing through the chute. The patties donot actually float in the sense of being buoyed to the surface of theliquid because the liquid is not sufficiently deep for this purpose, buta continuous layer of the liquid ilows down the trough and carries thepatties with it. Without the liquid batter coating, the comminuted meatpatty would stick .to the bottom of .the trough. The underside of themeat patty becomes completely coated with batter .as the patty journeysdown the trough. A reservoir filled with batter mounted above the troughsupplies liquid to coat the vtop side of the patties as they passbeneath the reservoir, thus accomplishing all ofthe coating andconveying without any manual handling.

The liquid coated patties are then gently transferred by novel conveyormeans to an inclined trough having a coating of cracker crumbs or thelike on the surface thereof. Any excess batter on the surface of lthepatties is `drained cfr and recovered during the transfer period prior-to deposition on the trough. Good drainage is imperative to prevent theexcess liquid from running into and coagulating the crumbs. Uponcontacting the crumbs n the trough, the bottom side of the patty becomescoated with the crumbs, which are adhered thereto by the batter. Thecrumbs, being dry and relatively slip pery, serve to slide the pattydown the incline upon vibration of the trough. The inclination of thetrough is not steep enough to cause :the patty to slide by gravitywithout the aid of vibration. The top sides of the patties then may becoated as they pass beneath a hopper mounted above the trough andadapted to drop crumbs thereon. In traversing the remaining distance tothe end of the trough, the excess crumbs are shaken oi and recovered for.further use. The crumbs which remain adhered to the patty becomeintegral with the patty be cause of the vibration. The completelybreaded meat product is then placed in packages and quick frozen.

Referring now to the drawings, the apparatus includes a supporting table10 on which the meat-shaping machines 14, the liquid coating chutes 16,and the transfer conveyors 18 are mounted. Table 10 has legs 12 withadjustable feet to permit modifying its height with respect to thetroughs 32. The machine 14 for shaping the coinminuted meat s fedcontinuously by a stutter through thiline 40. 'Y 'Ihefmeat is forcedinto a die opening or cavity, having the desired peripheralconfiguration, cut

through the reciprocating plate 15. The shaped product The shapedcomminuted meat is plastic and will retain if' i the shape impartedthereto by the mold of the machine 14 only yif handled very carefully.It is well known how easily shaped meat patties may be distorted,divided or torn.

vrlfhe apparatus illustrated in the drawings is adapted for processingtwo continuous files of meat patties, but it will be understood that anynumber of parallel lines may be employed. For the sake of convenience indescribing the apparatus, only one line will be referred to, it beingunderstood that the second line parallel thereto the upper end of thechute 16 through the left branch 42 of the T-shaped pipe assembly, asbest shown in Figure 2. A pump 56 moves batter upwardly through thevertical pipe member 46 of the T and the batter ows continuously involumes determined by the speed at which it is pumped. The batter formsa layer over the bottom of the chute 16. The patties M are dropped withthe at iside in contactwith the flowing layer of batter and are conveyedthereby to the discharge (right) end of the chute, as shown in Figure 2.The speed at which the patties travel down the chute is coordinated withthe number of patties produced by the machine 14 andmay be regulated bychanging the volume of the batter owing through the chute, i.e. theswiftness of the stream, and/ or its angle of inclination.

The other branch 44 of the T piping arrangement discharges batter intoareservoir 48 mounted directly above the chute 16 on supports 52 securedto the surface of the table 10.' The reservoir 48 has a series ofopenings 50 through which liquid B spills onto the top side of pattiespassing beneath the reservoir in the chute. Any suitable means forsupplying liquid continuously to the top side of the patties may beemployed. A large hopper 54 is provided below the discharge end of thechute having its open end extending up through the surface of the tabletop 10 for catching the batter that flows off the end of the chute. Thehopper 54 also catches the excess batter that drains from the pattiesmoving on the conveyor 18, as mentioned hereinafter. Fresh batter ischarged into the hopper 54 as required, A suitable sanitary pump 56 isconnected on its intake side to the hopper 54 through line 55 and on itsdischarge side to line 46 through the horizontal line 58. The hopper andthe pump are fixed to the frame 12, 13 of the table. Suitable powermeans (not shown) is provided for operating the pump. The flow of batterfrom pipes 42 and 44 may be convenientlyregulated by varying the speedof the pump, or by providing orifices of desired size in the pipes whilerunning the pump at constant speed.

We have found that if the patties are moved down the chute in aswiftly-moving heavy stream of liquid, the liquid washes over the topside of the patty as its speed iS abruptly decreased upon dropping totheconveyor 18.

This abrupt decrease in speed is only momentary until the patty makescontact with the conveyor and is once again advanced at normal speed. Ifthe liquid is of relatively low viscosity, the topside may beconveniently coated in this way without the provision of the reservoir48. With more viscous liquid adhesives the above-described reservoirsystem is preferred.

The patties M are discharged from the end ofthe chute 16 withconsiderable excess batter thereon which must be drained off. This isaccomplished by providing a novel transfer conveyor 18 which permitssimultaneously draining and conveying the fragile meat patties withoutdistortion to the next station of the apparatus. The transfer conveyorhas a frame consisting of a pair of spaced upright opposed plates 60, 62which are secured by means of a plurality of transverse bolts 66 at theleft end and bolts 68 at the right end, as shown in Figures 2 and 6. Theframe members or plates 60', 62 preferably become narrower and turndownwardly ata slight angle near the discharge (right) end. The left endof the frame is pivotally mounted by a pin or bolt 59 extending throughthe upright members of a U-shaped bracket 67 secured to the table 10.The left-handhalf of the conveyor consists of four rows oflaterally-spaced discs 61, 63, 71, 73 fixedly mounted on transversedriven shafts rotatably journalled in openings provided therefor in theside plates 60 and 62. Preferably, the discs are tapered, the thicknessgradually being reduced from center to circumference, to facilitatedrainage. The discs are separated from cach other and from the framemembers by means of short lengths of tubing or rings 64 of suitablewidth. The discs are preferably made from stainless steel or othermaterial which is not subject to rust or corrosion and which can beeasily cleaned. The circumferences of the adjacent rows of discsoverlap, the discs being laterally spaced on the shafts so that theynest or interleaf with each other, as shown in Figure 6. The discs atthe left end of the conveyor are larger in size than those at the rightend of the conveyor and the diameters are progressively reduced, thatis, the discs 63 are of slightly smaller diameter than the discs 6l, thediscs 71 are of slightly smaller diameter' than the discs 73, and soforth. The shafts 65 are driven through suitable well known gearing andpower means .(not shown) whichare adapted to rotate each row of discs atdilerent speeds in proportion to the disc diameter. The smaller Vdiscsrotate more rapidly than the larger discs so that the linear speed ofthe circumferences, on which the patties travel, is equal. The number ofrows of discs may be varied, of course, in accordance with the length ofthe conveyor. The right end of thetransfer conveyor, which turnsdownwardly to join the trough 32, consists of a series of spaced endlessbead chains which are trained over pulleys 69 mounted on drivenrotatable shaft 65a at the left end and on relatively small diameteridler roller 72 at the discharge end. Roller 72 .has spacedrecesses-therein for receiving the chains 70. As previously indcated,the side plates 60` and 62 are of decreasing height toward the right endof the conveyor so as to permit the bead chain at its discharge end tobe disposed as closely as possible to the supporting surtate catchingall of the batter which runs off of the meat f patties and down the thindiscs during transfer to the next station. It is important that thedrainage be effectively accomplished so that the adhesive batter doesnot drain into the crumbs on the trough 32.

` For carrying out the breading operation in which crumbs are applied toboth sides of the flat shaped comminuted "meat patties a pair oflongitudinal troughs 32 is` provided, -being supported on a frameconsisting of a plurality of upright members 26 andlongitudinal members281 and 30. Each trough is mounted for vibration on` flat metal springs11'0 or the like which are secured at one end to the frame and attheother end to the trough supporting plates, as will be describedhereinafter. As shownine Figure,y 2, the right-hand Yend of the conveyor18, which consists of the bead chain conveyor portion, `extends over theleft `end of the trough 32 which is elevated slightly above the rightend. A double hopper is` mounted onand above both parallel troughs andis adapted to supply both with crumbs C as the troughs (and thefhopper)are vibrated. The-hopper serves to store and deposit crumbs on thesurfaceof` the trough on, Whichthe. liquid batter coated patties yarelaid by the transfer conveyor, ,and also on the'top side of the`patties. shown in Figures 2, 3, 4y and 5, the hopper has four verticalside walls comprising two side plates 80 and 81 'and two end plateszl82Yand 83. The side plates are secured to the longitudinal opposed platemembers 101 which support the troughs 32. The plate members 101 aresecured in spaced relation by means of a plurality of lower tubes 104and upper tubes 102 welded to the inner sides thereof. The space definedby the four vertical sides of the hopper is divided into two hoppercompartments by means of central transverse panels 84, 8S which slopelongitudinally outward from the center of the hopper; The forward hoppercompartment' has transverse side walls 84 and 86 which slope toward thecenter of the compartment from the top edge thereof, and side walls 88'and '90.` which slope' inwardly in a transverse direction. A smallsquare central opening is defined by the lower edges of these fourpanelsrthrough which the crumbs fall and are divided in two portions,half flowing to one trough and half to the other` trough. Slopinglongitudinal walls '92 and 94, which are joined in an apex just belowthe square opening in the bottom of the forward hopper serve to directthe flow of crumbs as indioated. Walls 92. and 94 terminate in generallyhorizontal edges which extend over the inner edge of the troughsbeneath. lthe conveyors 18. To insure distribution of the crumbs acrossthe width of the troughs, the portions 96, 98 thereof, directly beneaththe forward hopper compartment, slope rearwardly, as indicated inFigures 2 and 4. A ridge 97' extends across the trough at the line wherethe trough slopes toward the rear of the machine. The crumbs must buildup in the trough portions 96, 98` and spill over the ridge due tovibrationsbefore advancing down the trough. Thus, distribw tion of thecrumbs across the entire width of the trough is insured. The'fpatties`arev dropped from conveyor 18 on the trough rearwardly of the ridge 97,which is completely coated witha layer of crumbs by reason of thisarrangement.

The rearward hopper compartment is divided longitudinally by downwardly`sloping sides 89 and 91. The crumbs which follow the incline of slopingpanel 91 are directed to the left-hand trough andthose following thepanel 89 are directed to the right-hand trough, Figure 5. Outerlongitudinal inclined panels 95 and 93 oppose panels` 89 and 91.Transverse panels 85 and 87 extend entirely across the lapparatusbeneath panels 89, 91 and 93, 95. Panel 87 terminates at edge 106 whichoverlaps panel 85, as best shown in Figures 2 and 3, providing` a smallspace through which the crumbs may fall. vA lip 85a (Figure 2)extendingfrom the lower end of the panel 85 across the width of thetrough directs the flow of the crumbs on the top side of the pattiespassing beneath the forward hopper compartment.

As shown in Figure 7, the troughs 32 may be formed from a single pieceof metal which is doubled over on itself to form the side walls 33, 34of the trough and the downwardly depending ange 100, which is secured,as by welding, to rods 104 which extend through the lower poru'on` ofthefflange at longitudinally spaced intervals. The outside wall 33 ofthetrough is reinforced by bend:- ing thesheet from which the trough ismade inwardlyv at right` angles to support the outer margin of thetrough bottom.: The outer sides of the trough are secured tolongitudinal plates 101 by means of rivets: or bolts 37', or may bewelded, as desired. The longitudinal plates 101 are, of course,coextensive with the troughs and serve as. the main supports for thetroughs. The plates 101 are held in spaced relation by a plurality ofrods 102, 104 spaced longitudinally and welded to the inner surface ofthe opposed plates. The top` and bottom. margins of the plates 101 maybe bent at right angles to increase the rigidity of theplates. f v

Thus, the spaced plates 101 and the twin troughs 32 are integral and`may be mounted on the frame of the machine by means of -at metal springsor the like. The` springs 110 are preferably made from stainless steeland are secured at their upper ends to angle cross mem.- bers 27 weldedto the frame uprights 26. As shown in Figure 8, the angle between legsof the anglemember 27 is less than a right angle which causes the spring110` secured theretoto be tilted at an angle of about 15 to 30 fromthevertical. The spring 110 is sandwiched between a pairV of` plates112, 113 which are riveted or bolted to the rear face ofthe anglesupport 27. The lower end of the spring 110 is sandwiched between plates118, 120 in similar fashion to the upper end and is secured to a rightanglel bracket 116 by means of rivets 122 or similaa fasteners. Thebracket 116 is welded to the outside of the` longitudinal plate101. FromFigure l it will be noted that the troughs are suspended from a seriesof four pairs of such springs, each pair being connected tolaterally-spacecl` upright frame member 26. The troughs are vibrated onthe springs essentially in an elliptical path, but in a vertical plane.The path of the motion is not critical. To provide the proper vibrationdesired for advancing the crumbs in the troughs, asuitable eccentricvibrating device 132 is mounted on the frame of the machine and isdriven by an electric motor or other source ofpower. 'I'he device 132 issecured to the side plates 101 byvmeans not shown. Any suitable meansfor providing vibration may be employed. A frequency of from-f80lly to900 vibrations per minute and an amplitude of about threefsixteenths tothree-eighths inch have been found tobe satisfactory for purposes of theinvention. This frequency and amplitude provide a flutter-or quiverlikemovement of the troughs, as distinguished from the relatively lowfrequency,high amplitude movement which produces tumbling or bouncingaction.

At the right-hand or discharge end. of the apparatus the troughs 32 areprovided with longitudinal slots 140 in the bottom thereof spaced acrosstheir width. Thesel slots serve to remove the excess crumbs which flowdown the trough with the coated comminutcd meat product. The slots.l arerelatively wideso that all crumbs, even those which have been coagulatedto some extent into small balls by the batter,` will fall vthrough intolump-catching means` provided beneath the slots. The lump-catching meansconsists of a screen or strainer 142 forming a depressed area in thebottom of the 'crumb chute 124, secured to the trough, as best shown inFigure l0. The sides 125, 126 of the crumb chute are fixed to plates`100, 101 by means of rivets or bolts 127', beneath the trough 32 andthe outer end of the chute extends beyond the end of the trough l32.

Ay hopper as shown in Figure l, is disposed beheathy the screen 142 forcatching the fines that therethrough. The hopper is of Y-shapedconstruction and services both troughs. The lower end of the hopper 162takes the form of a tube which directs the ow of the fines to a singlebelt conveyor 164, mounted on the lower portion of the main framebetween uprights 26 beneath the troughs. The conveyor is adapted to movethe fines into the crumb container 24 beneath the hoppers 20 near thehead end of thefmachine. A bucket=elevator-r22 mounted on the far sideofthe apparatus dips into the convtainer 24 and raises the crumbs abovethe machine" and deposits them in a trough 25 which has its `low'erendconnected to the crumb hopper 20 'from which thetroughs 32 are fed. Theconstruction. of the bucket elevator is conventional and need not bedescribed in detailsince it forms no part of this invention. Y

If the length of the apparatus is such thatthe slope from the hopper 20to the lower end of the 'tube 162 is not too great, the forward end ofthe conveyor 164 may be raised between the parallel spaced troughs 32to'a height above the hopper 20. This construction'permits conveying thecrumbs directly to the hopper and eliminates the necessity for bucketelevator 22.11 y

The crumbs which have lumpedrup flow from the discharge end lof thechute 124 into a truck 168 -where they may be again reduced in size andcharged back into'the crumb container 24 along with fresh crumbs.

The operation of the apparatus will` be apparent from the foregoingdescription and a detailed recitation of the operation is not necessary.It should be emphasized, however, that the vibration of the troughs 32also causes the parts connected thereto to vibrate, including tlichopper 20 and the crumb chute 124. tinually ow from the hopper due tovibration, form in a smooth, even layer over the bottom of the troughs32 and advance to the cru-mb chute from which they are discharged,either as fines into the hopper 160, or as lumps into the truck 168. Thebatter coated patties deposited on the layer of crumbs slide down thetroughs due to vibration and are manually removed at the end of thetrough. The vibration also removes the excess crumbs from the patties,and causes the adhered crumbs to bury themselves in the surface andbecome an integral part of the patty.

All of the parts of the apparatus which are to contact the ediblematerials in the process are preferably made from stainless steel, glassor plastics which will not corrode and are easily cleaned. Of course,where the articles being processed are not food products, thisrequirement isnot as important. Other changes in materials and in theconstruction and arrangement of the parts of the apparatus will beapparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the truespirit of our-invention. It is, therefore, our intention to cover allmodilications which may reasonably be included within the scope of theappended claims.

What we claim as new and desire to secure ters Patent of the UnitedStates is: 4

1. A method for applying comminuted dry material to a generally flatfragile article having an adhesive surface which comprises laying saidarticle on an [inclined] surface having a layer of said dry materialthereon with one face in contact with said layer, vibrating said surfacewith a relatively high-frequency low-amplitide movement to advance thearticle along the surface with its opposite face exposed, andsimultaneously shaking additional comminuted dry material on saidexposed face to completely coat said article.

2. A method for applying crumbs to a fragile generally flat compactedmass of meat having a batter coating on the surface thereof whichcomprises laying said meat mass on an inclined surface having a layerVof crumbs thereon with one face in contact with said layer, vibratingsaid surface with a relatively high-frequency, lowamplitude movement toadvance the meat mass along the surface with its opposite face exposed,and simultaneously shaking additional crumbs on said exposed face tocomby Letplctely coat said Ameat mass.

Thus, crumbs `con- 3.' apparatusrfor coating generally at fragilearticles with a liquid 'adhesive andan external layer of .dry

comminnted material comprising a rst varticle support yhaving aninclined surface, means for continuously flowing a stream of said liquidadhesive down said surface to advance the articles thereon and coat theunderside thereof with the liquid, a reservoir mounted above saidsurface for supplying liquid to coat the top side of articles passingtherebeneath, a second article support having an inclined surfacemounted for vibration, means for applying a layer of said Vdry materialon the surface of said second article support, v means for 'vibratingsaid second article support, a hopper mounted on and above said secondarticle support for supplying dry material to coat the top side of thearticles and conveyor mean for transferring. said liquid-coated articlesfrom said first article supportto saidtsecond article'support.

4. An apparatus for coating generally at fragile articles with a liquidadhesive and an external layer of dry comminuted material comprising aninclined'chute, means for continuously ilowing a streamof said liquidadhesive down said chute to advance the articles therethrough and coatthe underside thereof with the liquid, a reservoir mounted onand abovethe chute for supplying liquid to coat the top side of articles passingtherebeneath, a slightly-inclined trough mounted for vibration, meansfor applying a continuous layer of said dry material on the bottom ofthe trough, a hopper mounted on and above the trough for supplying drymaterial to coat the top side of the articles, means for vibrating saidtrough and hopper, and conveyor means for simultaneously draining andtransferring said liquid-coated articles from said chute to said trough.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 in which theconveyor means comprises aplurality of rows of laterally-spaced discs, the discs in adjacent rowsbeing interleafedand ofy progressively smaller diameter, a series ofpulleys interleafed with the row of smallest diameter discs,V a rollerof very small diameter parallel with the 'axis of said pulleys, andendless bead chains trained over'said pulleys and said roller.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 in which the trough is suspended on flatleaf-type springs ffor vibratory movement in a vertical plane. l

7. The apparatus of claim 4 in which the trough contains spaced openingsnear the discharge end thereof for separating excess dry material fromthe articles advancing thereon.

8. The apparatus of claim 4 invwhich said hopper mounted on and abovethe trough is adapted to deposit dry material continuously on thesurface of the `trough as well as on the top side of said articles.

References Cited in the file of this patent or the original patentUNITED STATES PATENTS

